KSP at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America National Conference 2023

The Big Brothers Big Sisters of America National Conference 2023 was held from June 26-29, 2023 in Anaheim, CA. Koreatown Storytelling Program Director Katherine Kim, alongside CoGenerate’s Janet Oh, Sages and Seekers Executive Director Elly Katz, and Civics Unplugged’s Michaela Davenport, spoke on a panel to discuss co-mentorship between youth and older adults and the importance of intergenerational relationships in supporting youth leadership.

Throughout the panel, the group discussed the issue of youth tokenization and how this can be combatted through the concept of co-mentoring, in which adults are partnering with rather than “serving” youth.

Kim also touched upon KSP’s co-mentoring and co-learning through our foodmaking workshops where older adult participants lead and teach youth cultural preservation, while the youth organize and conduct the oral history interviews.

“KSP isn’t a mentoring program, per se, but one in which adults and youth take turns being teachers and learners,” Kim said.